New US secretary of state to visit Jordan next week

WASHINGTON — Newly sworn in US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will head from this week’s NATO meeting in Brussels directly on to high level talks in Jordan, Saudi Arabia and Israel, his spokeswoman said.

Speaking on the tarmac of Joint Base Andrews in front of the secretary’s government jet as he arrived from his Supreme Court swearing-in, Heather Nauert said the stops were chosen to reflect their “importance as key allies and partners in the region”.

“The secretary looks forward to meeting key allies and partners on his first official trip as secretary of state,” a statement quoting Nauert said.

The secretary will first travel to Brussels April 26-27, where he will meet with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg and participate in the NATO foreign ministers meeting before heading to the region.

He “will then travel to the Middle East, where he will meet with Saudi, Israeli, and Jordanian leaders to discuss critical regional and bilateral issues”, the statement, made available to The Jordan Times, said.

Pompeo picked those three Middle East stops “because of all that is going on”, Nauert said.